The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 followed possibly the team's weakest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities represented the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
